News & Blogs

News posts

Analysis of Earth's geologic record can reveal how the climate has changed over time. As profiled in the Science Bulletin below, scientists in New Zealand are examining samples from the rocky landscape once dominated by glaciers and employing a new technique called surface exposure dating, which uses chemical analysis to determine how long minerals within rocks have been exposed to the air since the glaciers around them melted. Comparisons of this data with other climate records have revealed a link between glacial retreat and rising levels of carbon dioxide in the air, findings that are informing scientists' understanding of global climate change today.

Ever since the first dinosaur fossil was identified almost 200 years ago, people have wondered how these fascinating animals lived, moved, and behaved. In the video series "Dinosaurs Explained" on AMNH.tv, Museum paleontologists Mark Norell,Michael Novacek, and Lowell Dingus answer the most frequently asked questions about dinosaurs.

What inspires scientists and innovators? On July 19, First Comes the Dream, a celebration of New York City’s emergence as a premier technology center, brought luminaries from science, technology, and media to the Museum to find out.

Co-hosted by the Museum with leading tech blog Gizmodo and social networking app Foursquare, the evening began in the Hayden Planetarium with remarks from Museum President Ellen Futter, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, and New York City Deputy Mayor Robert Steel before launching the awe-struck audience on a tour of the universe with the Museum’s Director of Astrovisualization Carter Emmart.

Next, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Museum’s Hayden Planetarium, sat down for an interview with iO9’s Annalee Newitz in the Cullman Hall of the Universe. In the video below, find out what sparked Dr. Tyson’s interest in astronomy and what he thinks the future of space exploration might hold.

Have a question for a paleontologist? On July 18, head over to leading technology blog Gizmodo at 1:30 pm for a chance to ask the Museum’s Provost of Science Michael Novacek what led him to become interested in his field, and anything else you wanted to know about paleontology but were afraid to ask.

Nearly 20 years ago, Dr. Novacek was one of the discoverers of the Gobi Desert’s Ukhaa Tolgod, the richest Cretaceous fossil vertebrate site in the world. He has also led paleontological expeditions to Baja California, Mexico; the Andes Mountains of Chile; and the Yemen Arab Republic in search of fossil mammals and dinosaurs.

Earlier this month, blogs Gizmodo and iO9 launched What Was It, is a series of short interviews that asks the luminaries of science and technology what inspired them. Read interviews with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, and astronaut Mae Jemison, then join the conversation with Dr. Novacek on July 18 at Gizmodo.com.